CoinWeek IQ: Collect Smart on a Budget – 4K Video

Not every collector has the unlimited means necessary to put together a world famous coin collection, but many collectors on a budget overlook methods that can help them get the most enjoyment and value out of the hobby.

In this CoinWeek IQ video, editor Charles Morgan describes a simple method to get the coins you really want without breaking the bank.

Note: SHOT IN 4K. Click: “Watch on YouTube” button to watch this presentation in its full 4K presentation.

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Transcript:

Imagine the coin collection that you can afford…

Take what your monthly budget is for coins and extrapolate that over the course of the year.

What is that total amount of money?

For the purposes of this video, let’s say that your monthly budget for coins is $100

Over the course of the year, a $100 budget would give you the ability to put $1,200 into building your collection.

Now most collectors are impulsive and will overspend their monthly amount, but for the sake

Of simplicity, let’s imagine what $100 a month in coins looks like.

You could buy a low grade mint state Morgan dollar from a common date and two certified silver eagles

or…

You could pick up a proof and uncirculated example of this year’s commemorative dollar from the U.S. Mint

or…

if you like vintage coins, a low grade or details grade middle date or late date large cent.

You could go on and on citing such examples.

That is the caliber of coin that is open to you at $100 per month in today’s market – and while your options as to what you can buy at this price range is not necessarily limited by variety – it is quite limiting in terms of long term value for the collector, who will at some point, need to sell the collection to recover as much of their cost as possible, and hopefully turn a profit.

Now, instead of that $100 monthly number, let’s make a budget where we buy coins not every month, but every other month.

Now we have $200 to play with. What does that look like?

On a $200 budget, your options are different.

Instead of a low mint state grade Morgan from a common date, you can buy a gem or better Morgan from the same date – or you can buy a choice Carson City coin from 1883 or 1884.

You could begin a set of 1/10 ounce American gold eagles in Proof or Mint State and potentially have some money left over to begin to put together a low mintage set of U.S. Mint made bronze medals… they are a thing.

Getting back to vintage coins – $200 gives you the option to collect a wide array of problem free large cents and half cents in grades up to AU.

One could put together an interesting collection of Bust half dollars in grades through XF.

Or, start the process of putting together a 50-coin type set of classic U.S. commemoratives, outside of a handful of issues, most coins in this series are within a collector’s reach at $200 per coin.

And while there is not a substantial difference in the rarity of the coins that you have to play with at this level, you can see based on these side by side comparisons, that the collection one would put together – on the same budget, just spent differently, are markedly different.

Now let’s look at a third method, a quarterly coin purchase. Now, instead of $100 every month or $200 every other month, you spend $300 every quarter. One coin per season.

At $300 you can dabble in the classic $1 gold coin series, picking up a number of dates in AU.

At $300, you can pick up a low grade – problem free 18th century large cent, high circulated grades of middle dates, and even choice uncirculated late date large cents – and even some nice varieties if you have an eye for them.

AT $300, you have better date, better grade Morgans, like this 1883-CC in MS64 PL from David Lawrence or this scarce 1893 in XF40.

At this level, with some degree of thought, one could assemble a fun, interesting, and potentially profitable collection… and at the end of the year, it’s the same $1200.

So taking this concept, evaluate your own budget and see what type of collection you could build by adjusting your timeline- could a bimonthly or quarterly coin buy pave the way for you building the collection of your dreams?

Let us know what you think about this idea in the comments below.

For CoinWeek, I’m editor Charles Morgan. Until next time, happy collecting.

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